Box fastener and seal.



W. M. BROOKS. BOX FASTEN'ER AND SEAL APPLICATION HLED FEB. 11. 19151,147,142. 7 Patent ed July 20, 1915. 2' EEEEEEEEEEEE I.

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BOXFASTENEB AND SEAL. APPLICATION FILED FEB-17' 1915.

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WINFRED MUDGE BROOKS, or EAST oaniven, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORTO E. J.BROOKS & 00., on NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

BOX FASTENER AND SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed February 17, 1915 Serial N 0. 8,799.

To all whom it may concern: a

Be it known that I, WINFRED MUDGE BRooKs, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of East Orange, in the State of New Jersey,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Box Fasteners and Seals,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metallic fasteners and seals for boxes andchests adapted to secure each plank thereof against pilfering withoutdetection, and for other analogous purposes as for securely attachingidentification marks so as to prevent tampering therewith.

The present invention consists in a novel combination of an improved boxfastener with a self-locking seal and reference is made to my pendingapplication Serial No. 877,981 for another application of the sealfeature here involved.

The leading object of this invention is the production of a secure boxfastener and seal from wire. 7

Other objects will be set forth in the general description whichfollows.

Two sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof, inwhich like reference characters refer to like parts in all the figures.V

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the corner of a box showing two of theimproved v fasteners and seals B, B, in the fastening and sealingoperation and a third A, partly driven home and awaiting the second andfinal step in the fastening and sealing operation; Fig. 2 represents across section of a corner of a box and side view of an improved fastenerand seal in the same position relative to the box as A in Fig. 1; Fig. 3represents a cross section of a portion of a box showing a side view ofthe fastener and seal after the fastening and sealing operations arecomplete as in B, Fig. 1; Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the seal lookingdown on the line 44L Fig. 2; Figs. 5, 9, 10 and 11 are cross sections ofsome of the various wires from which the improved fastener and seal canbe made asdesired; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of thefastener and seal made from wires of different cross sections asfollows: Fig. 6 shows device made from flat wire a cross section ofwhich on line 99 is shown in Fig. 9; Fig. 7 shows device made fromsquare wire a cross section of which on line 10-10 is shown in Fig. 10;Fig. 8 shows device made of triangular wire a cross section of which online 11l1 is shown in Fig. 11. The fasteners and seals shown in Figs. 1,2 and 3 are made from round wire a cross section of which taken on line55 Fig. 2 is shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 12 shows perspective of end of a boxrepresenting fastened seals and fasteners used in conjunction with ametal box strap O and a mode of crossing and fastening the ends D ofsuch a strap. Fig. 13 shows a cross section of a portion of a box and aside view of the fastener and seal in the first operation of sealing inconjunction with a box strap. Fig. 14: is a back view showing the innernotched side of the seal part and the notch a, Fig. 15 shows aperspective of a modified form of the fastener and seal in which therelative lengths of the seal portions have been modified to adapt it touse with box straps. Other like modifications will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. Figs. 16, 17and 18are enlargeddiagrammatic views of the seal part; Fig. 16 being a side view and Figs.17 and 18 being cross sections on the lines 17 17 and 1818 respectivelyof Fig. 16. These indicate the soft core and outer hard shell of theseal part, which may be produced by chilling or any suitable process andhow by'notching. the wire the outer hard shell m is removed at thatpoint exposing the soft 'core awiththe effects hereinafter more-fullydescribed.

The improved box fastener and seal as it leaves the factory ready foruse is a one piece metal staple of special construction. The two nailprongs 1 and 1 are pointed at their extremities b. The head or sealcomprises two portions 2, 2 flattened and embossed with suitabledesignations as desired and a connecting portion 3. The nail prong 1 isbent at right angles to its adjacent flattened and embossed portion 2while the nail prong 1 is bent in the same plane and atan angle slightlymore than 90 to its adjacent flattened and embossed portion 2. The twohead portions 2, 2 are bent slightly relative to each other and in thesame plane as the prongs at the neck 3 which is nicked at this point onits inner side by a transverse notch or which cuts the outer hard shellof the wire m and exposes the inner soft core n. (See Figs. 17 and 18.)

a The angles of the nail prongs l, 1 with re spect to the adjacent headportions 2, 2 are such as are adapted to produce in operation a new andeffective fastening and tightening effect. The prong 1 being at rightangles to its adjacent head portion is readily driven home in a lineperpendicular-to the plank, while the point Z) of prong 1 by reason ofthe angle slightly more than 90 which said prong bears to its adjacenthead part enters the plank at a distance from' the notch a slightly morethan the length of the head portion 2, which latter is drawn upondriving the prong 1 obliquely into the box and the entire head partpressed snugly over the corner of the box under slight longitudinaltension. The hard outer shell m having been cut by the notch a, anyattempt to raise either prong tending to bend the wire of the seal part3 away from the notch a would result in fracturing the seal at thatpoint and the longitudinal tension before mentioned would draw thesevered portions apart thus readily disclosing the attempt to tamperwith the fastener. i

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention anddesire to patent under this specification 1. An improved boX fastenerand seal of wire having in combination two suitably inclined nail prongsand a head part said head part'having a relatively soft core and hardouter shell and a transverse notch cut through said outershell on itsinner side.

2. .An iniprovedbox fastener and seal of wire having in combination twosuitably inclined nail prongs, a head part consisting of two flattenedand embossed portions separated by a neck or seal part, said seal partadapted to being bent toward the notch in the sealing operation.

3. An improved box-fastener and seal of wire having in combination twosuitably inclined nail prongs, a head part consisting of two flattenedand embossed portions separated by a neck with a relatively soft coreand hard outer shell and bent slightly at said neck in the same plane asthe nail prongs, there being a notch cut transversely through the outershell on the inner side of said neck at saidbend.

l. An improved boX fastener and seal of wire having in combination ahead or seal part having a relatively soft core and hard outer shell andout transversely through said outer shell on one side, a nail prong benttoward the notched side and at right angles to the head part and asecond nail' prong bent toward the notchedside at an angle slightly morethan 90 with the head part. a

5. In an improved box fastener and seal of wire the combination .of ahead or seal part having a soft core and hard outer shell, said outershell being cut transversely on one side, two flattened and embossedportions adjacent to and on either side of said notched part and bentslightly relatively toward eachother at the notch, a nail prongcontinuation of one of said flattened por tions bent at right anglesthereto and toward the notched part and a second'nail prong incontinuation of the other flattened part, bent at an angle slightly morethan 90 thereto and toward the notched part and in the same plane withthe said notched partand first nail prong,"all substantially ashereinbefore specified. a i I \VINFRED MUDGE BROOKS. WVitnesses:

MORRIS MIoHnLsoN,

RossLEYN JAMonNn'AN.

Copies of this patent may besobtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 1

